The monumental tragedy in Beirut recently, all the more awful in that it was entirely preventable, demands immediate attention and support. Among the many musicians and labels leaping into action is Berlin\u2019s Morphine Records, assembling a remarkably interesting and worthwhile fundraiser anthology of contemporary and experimental music in surprisingly little time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beirut\u2019s harbour explosion and its devastating aftermath are of a scale and consequence to prompt a wide range of emotions, reflected here across these diverse pieces. Despite the title, full-on furious rage isn\u2019t among them, though there\u2019s a certain controlled anger in Neel\u2019s \u201cForza\u201d. Apprehension informs \u201cSans Titre\u201d, a collaboration between Toronto composer John Kameel Farah and Thomas Brinkmann, an elder statesman of the minimal techno movement. Elsewhere, some pieces are anxious, such as Morphine label head Rabih Beaini\u2019s restive \u201cGhadab\u201d, and the fragmented oud of \u201cQaluli (they told me)\u201d, from Radwan Ghazi Moumneh of Jerusalem in my Heart. Others are meditative, notably Donato Dozzy\u201ds \u201cOnde\u201d and the diaphanous drones of Stefan Fraunberger\u2019s \u201cReprise\u201d. Bereavement has an obvious place in this moment, and it\u2019s expressed in Czech duo Irena and Vojtech Havlovi\u2019s heartbroken \u201cRadek 2\u201d. There\u2019s even a faint note of hope, in Rashad Becker\u2019s \u201cmatraquage\u201d, certainly tragic in tone but laced with an impish spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All proceeds are destined for hands-on NGOs doing real, necessary work on the ground in Beirut, a city that must be rebuilt just as surely as Lebanon\u2019s wretched political class must be dismantled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n